That face of hers was the most frightful and frightening thing I have ever seen.
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=
=
=
Science Experiment Term 3 2016
I have got three "Elephant Garlic" bulbs. I want to find out what are the best growing conditions for them.
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=
What do I know about Italy?
Flag of Italy
I have been to Italy, in the northern region travelling in my VW Van. My memory is that the people are very stylish and the land is farmed to perfection. I love listening to Italians speak as they speak with passion using expression and also their hands!
Italian food that I enjoy is their cheese, pizza, pasta (especially lasagna), and wine (for cooking with of course!) I sort of like the dessert tiramisu, but there are not many places in New Zealand that know how to make it properly. My favourite salad of tomatoes, basil, mozerella cheese and olive oil.
Luciano Pavarotti
Guccio Gucci
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Quilling
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Olympic Games
Jamaica
What I already know ....
Usain Bolt is a Jamaican sprinter. Regarded as the fastest person ever timed, he is the first man to hold both the 100 metres and 200 metres world records since fully automatic time measurements became mandatory in 1977
The world’s fastest man may have six Olympic gold medals, but that doesn’t mean he’s perfect. Far from it, in fact, if you consider his agent Ricky Simms’ most recent shock admission about the Jamaican track star. For all his celebrity and speed, Bolt has never run a mile.
What am I interested in?
What is the team uniform this year? Puma Announces Olympic Running Gear For Jamaica Featuring the colors of Jamaica, the kits are made from lightweight compression fabrics and have innovative features such as ACTV taping to provide muscle support and energy return as well as bonded seams for comfort. They are also reinforced with a six-way stretch fine gauge warp-knit fabric for targeted compression while also assuring a full range of movement.
“The kits are designed with one goal in mind: to be forever faster,” the brand said in a release.
Puma Caribbean Federation Kits Jamaica Usain
Featured in the images for the Jamaica kit is Puma-sponsored athlete Usain Bolt, who is considered the world’s fastest runner. Puma and Jamaica have had a long-standing relationship, “dominating the world of men’s sprint events in recent years,” Puma said in its Jamaica Olympic kit.
Famous Jamaicans
Bob Marley, who was born Nesta Robert Marley in Jamaica in 1945 and died in 1981, is the best known and best loved performer and writer of reggae music. He is credited with spreading the Jamaican music and the Rastafarian Movement throughout the world. Marley’s music was influenced by social issues in Jamaica, and he worked to give a voice to the important cultural and social issues of his day. Marley has had an influence on many populations, regardless of race, color, or creed, worldwide. He is known as a “freedom fighter with a guitar” and his promotion of peace and tolerance continues to resonate with a global audience.
Well, I've been doing a bit of research for our new topic for next term .... but I might squeeze in a quick unit on the Olympic Games so we can get a bit of world geography in. I've just been on-line with other New Zealand Teachers who are also busy planning for next term .... its been fun!
6 June - 30 July Nationwide When the Matariki star cluster rises into the skies of New Zealand, it signals a month-long celebration across the country of the Māori New Year. http://www.newzealand.com/int/event/matariki/
What is Miss McLennan learning about just now?
Applying research to raise academic achievement across the nation
Why have I introduced DOJO CLASS ?
To see similar videos about growth mindset in math, sign up for Professor Jo Boaler’s course, How to Learn Math, and check out youcubed.org.
Multiple Intelligence Theory Versus Developing a Growth Mindset
Learn how multiple intelligence theory and the research on growth mindset can empower students to take ownership of their learning!
If you’re familiar with Dr. Carol Dweck’s research regarding fixed versus growth mindset, you might be wondering whether her findings are compatible with MI theory. To provide a bit of context, Dr. Dweck found that praising kids for being "smart" is actually detrimental to their self-esteem and hinders them from succeeding in school. When kids are praised for being smart, they learn to avoid tasks that include a risk of failure, because failing must mean they aren’t smart.
The good news is that we can positively impact our students’ mindsets by changing the way we praise them. Praising students for choosing challenging tasks and recognizing them for working hard to master difficult skills fosters a “growth” mindset. With enough encouragement and support, kids will begin to believe in themselves and succeed in situations where they would have previously given up.
Partly due to concerns about praising kids for being smart, some educators believe that MI theory is no longer relevant. However, I disagree. If you think about it, the two theories actually support each other quite well. MI theory can help students understand how they learn best, and this knowledge can foster a growth mindset when they are struggling to solve a problem or facing a difficult task.
However, it’s important to have a full understanding of both concepts in order to implement them effectively in the classroom. Carol Dweck’s work reminds us of the need for caution when using the word “smart” as it relates to MI theory. We should never treat “smartness” as
a fixed quality, or praise students for being "smart,” as if being smart is in itself a worthy goal. Any praise we offer students should support a growth mindset.
Growth mindset research also comes into play when interpreting the results of MI surveys. While a survey may indicate that we have strengths in some areas more than others, those results may not be a true reflection of our abilities. In fact, any "strengths" may be the result of previous life experiences, and we are likely to develop strengths in other areas in the coming years as we try new things. Scores in each of the eight areas should be viewed as flexible, providing a snapshot of how we learn best right now. The way we can become smarter in ALL areas is to try new experiences and be willing to face challenges, even if that means we might not be successful right away.
To put this into perspective, imagine that one of your students, Cindy, tells you she’s not smart in math. She’s always felt this way and has just accepted it as a “weakness.” However, after learning about MI theory and growth mindset, Cindy realizes that she’s not doomed to have poor math skills forever. After taking an MI survey, Cindy discovers that she’s highly Visual-Spatial and has strengths as a Bodily Kinesthetic learner. The next time she feels frustrated trying to solve a math problem, she decides to draw a picture to help her visualize the problem and its solution. To check the answer, she recreates the problem using snap cubes because this hands-on approach gives her confidence in her solution.
Ultimately, both multiple intelligence theory and the research on growth mindset can empower students to take ownership of their learning!
By the way, if you're encouraging your students to develop a growth mindset, you might object to teaching them the kid-friendly MI terms because all of those terms include the word "smart." Instead, teach your students the terms that Dr. Gardner used to describe these intelligence areas. They may enjoy the challenge of learning those big words!
Being the eldest in the family
I am big sister to Alistair, the late Grant and my sister Christine. My memories of being the eldest are both good and bad. I have always been a "leader" kind of person so I quite liked getting the responsibility of looking after the younger ones if our parents were both away. But with that role I also looked like "the boss" in their eyes. I was only doing what I had been told to do ... and now that they are parents they can see how they as parents expect that of their oldest children.
I can remember some pretty big arguments at home in those times that I was left to look after those three kids! Usually it was the two middle boys fighting, my sister was pretty good at keeping herself amused. I have wonderful memories of getting away from them all and staying at my Grandma and Grandads' house for weekends. I loved being the only child in the house with them. I would bake girdle scones and piklets in the wee kitchen with my Grandma and then go out and help in the huge paddock and hen house that my Grandad was always busy with. I also liked staying with my Granny and Grandad who also lived in Oamaru. There was always plenty to do at their place and Granny always had me doing some kind of craft job as she loved machine knitting and recycling things.
For my parents, I was expected to be a "good role model" for the younger ones. I think I did a pretty good job at that as I did my homework, I had a good social life with nice friends and I worked hard at school so that I got enough grades to get to University. I liked being a good role model and it turned out that all my siblings went to university in my footsteps.
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Trying new styles of teaching
In M1 I am going to find out about the Must Do Can Do method of learning
Your results for this quiz have been calculated and are presented below:
What type of tree would you be? Your Result: Maple
86%
You are a sweet person and have many friends. You like everyone. You love cute things like puppies and kittens. Don't let people trick you; you are a little gullible
69%Palm
68%Oak
61%Redwood
38%Pine
Holly
Holly
www.kitchenfoodgarden.com Prickly yet pleasing to the eye, you are the Holly Tree! You are a social butterfly with a tendency to be short-tempered, especially if a social situation is not going as you planned. You rely on a strong net of family and friends to help you through daily life, as you tend to be either in a really good mood, or a terrible one - rarely experiencing the inbetween. Others enjoy your company, though know not to push the wrong buttons! Jayde Officer. What type of tree would you be? Your Result: Palm
89% You either like the beach, the desert, or the rainforest. You are very tolerant of others and don't like giving up friends. You love to have parties...
MARCH 15, 2016 3PM CATHERINE KNOWLES Education technology is crucial in fostering social and emotional learning (SEL), and developing skills necessary in the 21st century, according to a new report. A global survey by the World Economic Forum and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) finds that education technology holds enormous promise to help foster social and emotion skills such as collaboration, communication, and problem solving. Currently, both parents and educators have a ‘narrow understanding’ of SEL - they view it primarily as a means of achieving better classroom discipline, not as a way to ensure better economic, academic, and social outcomes over the long term, the report finds. However, according to the report, ed-tech can help to personalise learning, engage the disengaged, complement what happens in the classroom, extend education outside the classroom, and provide access to learning to students who might otherwise not have sufficient education opportunities. Challenges for education technology adoption Despite the promise of technology, most of the learning strategies commonly used to develop social and emotional skills do not use technology, or use it in only a limited way, according to the report. The survey shows that most parents and educators recognise the potential for education technology to build social and emotional skills but also that they do not fully understand which technologies hold the most promise or how to use them best. In addition, parents and educators prefer to use technologies to impart foundational academic skills rather than to foster social and emotional skills. For example, 67% of teachers surveyed believe technology is best used for foundational subjects, such as literacy and numeracy, whereas only 43% believe it is best used for social and emotional skills, results that are similar to findings in other countries. In addition, the number of SEL-related ed-tech products in the market today is insufficient, the report finds. Opportunities for education technology According to the report, there are many critical opportunities that ed-tech presents to policy-makers, educators, and parents to foster the social and emotional skills that children need. For one, educators and others can use ed-tech to boost what they already understand about social and emotional learning. In this way, these key people can utilise what they already know and capitalise on what works, the report finds. Furthermore, technology developers are embedding SEL features more and more into ed-tech products in order to support foundational skills such as literacy and numeracy, and this is expanding what’s possible. The five key technologies of today - wearable devices, leading-edge apps, virtual reality, advanced analytics and machine learning, and affective computing - are already extending the potential ways of fostering SEL and enabling educators to adopt new learning strategies, according to the report. "To thrive in the 21st century, students must have strong social and emotional skills, which are increasingly vital to the changing labour market and are clearly linked to a range of benefits including higher levels of academic success and employment,” says Allison Bailey, a senior partner and the head of BCG's US Education practice. "Tremendous innovation is happening in education as well as across industries that we can learn from to design new learning experience for the future," says Mengyu Annie Luo, World Economic Forum head of Media, Entertainment, and Information Industries.
dark_face.jpg
Arguably, to those who are not very involved in the study of ancient Egypt, Queen Nefertiti is perhaps better known than her husband, the heretic king Akhenaten (Amenhotep IV). It is said that even in the ancient world, her beauty was famous, and her famous statue, found in a sculptor's workshop, is not only one of the most recognizable icons of ancient Egypt, but also the topic of some modern controversy. She was more than a pretty face however, for she seems to have taken a hitherto unprecedented level of importance in the Amarna period of Egypt's 18th Dynasty. In artwork, her status is evident and indicates that she had almost as much influence as her husband. For example, she is depicted nearly twice as often in reliefs as her husband, at least during the first five years of his reign. What does it mean if you are wearing a Nefertiti necklace? THAT letter! Yesterday the class was given THAT letter! I took it home and ....
Fantasy Witch
The Grand High Witch
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Science Experiment Term 3 2016
I have got three "Elephant Garlic" bulbs. I want to find out what are the best growing conditions for them.
==
What do I know about Italy?
I have been to Italy, in the northern region travelling in my VW Van. My memory is that the people are very stylish and the land is farmed to perfection. I love listening to Italians speak as they speak with passion using expression and also their hands!
Italian food that I enjoy is their cheese, pizza, pasta (especially lasagna), and wine (for cooking with of course!) I sort of like the dessert tiramisu, but there are not many places in New Zealand that know how to make it properly.
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Quilling
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=
Olympic Games
Jamaica
What I already know ....
Usain Bolt is a Jamaican sprinter. Regarded as the fastest person ever timed, he is the first man to hold both the 100 metres and 200 metres world records since fully automatic time measurements became mandatory in 1977
The world’s fastest man may have six Olympic gold medals, but that doesn’t mean he’s perfect.
Far from it, in fact, if you consider his agent Ricky Simms’ most recent shock admission about the Jamaican track star.
For all his celebrity and speed, Bolt has never run a mile.
What am I interested in?
What is the team uniform this year?
Puma Announces Olympic Running Gear For Jamaica
Featuring the colors of Jamaica, the kits are made from lightweight compression fabrics and have innovative features such as ACTV taping to provide muscle support and energy return as well as bonded seams for comfort. They are also reinforced with a six-way stretch fine gauge warp-knit fabric for targeted compression while also assuring a full range of movement.
“The kits are designed with one goal in mind: to be forever faster,” the brand said in a release.
Featured in the images for the Jamaica kit is Puma-sponsored athlete Usain Bolt, who is considered the world’s fastest runner. Puma and Jamaica have had a long-standing relationship, “dominating the world of men’s sprint events in recent years,” Puma said in its Jamaica Olympic kit.
Famous Jamaicans
Bob Marley, who was born Nesta Robert Marley in Jamaica in 1945 and died in 1981, is the best known and best loved performer and writer of reggae music. He is credited with spreading the Jamaican music and the Rastafarian Movement throughout the world. Marley’s music was influenced by social issues in Jamaica, and he worked to give a voice to the important cultural and social issues of his day. Marley has had an influence on many populations, regardless of race, color, or creed, worldwide. He is known as a “freedom fighter with a guitar” and his promotion of peace and tolerance continues to resonate with a global audience.
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Hokonui Fashion Design Awards
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In the Holidays ...
Well, I've been doing a bit of research for our new topic for next term .... but I might squeeze in a quick unit on the Olympic Games so we can get a bit of world geography in. I've just been on-line with other New Zealand Teachers who are also busy planning for next term .... its been fun!
http://mrwatkinsnz.weebly.com/home/category/maths
http://mrwatkinsnz.weebly.com/home/category/digital-writing-tools
https://sites.google.com/a/matata.school.nz/literacy-progressions/
==
http://www1.burgerfuel.com/nz/
There is a new food outlet in Timaru!!!
Hundreds through Pita Pit Timaru's doors on opening day
http://www.stuff.co.nz/timaru-herald/news/79287009/Hundreds-through-Pita-Pit-Timarus-doors-on-opening-dayHell Pizza Flaming Dragon: Meet New Zealand's hottest pizza
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/business/our-people/7340172/To-Hell-and-back
=
Matariki
6 June - 30 JulyNationwide
When the Matariki star cluster rises into the skies of New Zealand, it signals a month-long celebration across the country of the Māori New Year.
http://www.newzealand.com/int/event/matariki/
What is Miss McLennan learning about just now?
Applying research to raise academic achievement across the nation
Why have I introduced DOJO CLASS ?
PERTS creates and evaluates free resources that help students become more passionate, resilient, and successful learners.
https://www.mindsetkit.org/topics/about-growth-mindset/what-is-growth-mindset
How does that look in maths?
https://www.mindsetkit.org/topics/give-tasks-promote-struggle-growth/short-closed-math-tasks-focus-students-on-performing
Multiple Intelligence Theory Versus Developing a Growth Mindset
If you’re familiar with Dr. Carol Dweck’s research regarding fixed versus growth mindset, you might be wondering whether her findings are compatible with MI theory. To provide a bit of context, Dr. Dweck found that praising kids for being "smart" is actually detrimental to their self-esteem and hinders them from succeeding in school. When kids are praised for being smart, they learn to avoid tasks that include a risk of failure, because failing must mean they aren’t smart.
The good news is that we can positively impact our students’ mindsets by changing the way we praise them. Praising students for choosing challenging tasks and recognizing them for working hard to master difficult skills fosters a “growth” mindset. With enough encouragement and support, kids will begin to believe in themselves and succeed in situations where they would have previously given up.
Partly due to concerns about praising kids for being smart, some educators believe that MI theory is no longer relevant. However, I disagree. If you think about it, the two theories actually support each other quite well. MI theory can help students understand how they learn best, and this knowledge can foster a growth mindset when they are struggling to solve a problem or facing a difficult task.
However, it’s important to have a full understanding of both concepts in order to implement them effectively in the classroom. Carol Dweck’s work reminds us of the need for caution when using the word “smart” as it relates to MI theory. We should never treat “smartness” as
a fixed quality, or praise students for being "smart,” as if being smart is in itself a worthy goal. Any praise we offer students should support a growth mindset.
Growth mindset research also comes into play when interpreting the results of MI surveys. While a survey may indicate that we have strengths in some areas more than others, those results may not be a true reflection of our abilities. In fact, any "strengths" may be the result of previous life experiences, and we are likely to develop strengths in other areas in the coming years as we try new things. Scores in each of the eight areas should be viewed as flexible, providing a snapshot of how we learn best right now. The way we can become smarter in ALL areas is to try new experiences and be willing to face challenges, even if that means we might not be successful right away.
To put this into perspective, imagine that one of your students, Cindy, tells you she’s not smart in math. She’s always felt this way and has just accepted it as a “weakness.” However, after learning about MI theory and growth mindset, Cindy realizes that she’s not doomed to have poor math skills forever. After taking an MI survey, Cindy discovers that she’s highly Visual-Spatial and has strengths as a Bodily Kinesthetic learner. The next time she feels frustrated trying to solve a math problem, she decides to draw a picture to help her visualize the problem and its solution. To check the answer, she recreates the problem using snap cubes because this hands-on approach gives her confidence in her solution.
Ultimately, both multiple intelligence theory and the research on growth mindset can empower students to take ownership of their learning!
By the way, if you're encouraging your students to develop a growth mindset, you might object to teaching them the kid-friendly MI terms because all of those terms include the word "smart." Instead, teach your students the terms that Dr. Gardner used to describe these intelligence areas. They may enjoy the challenge of learning those big words!
Being the eldest in the family
I am big sister to Alistair, the late Grant and my sister Christine. My memories of being the eldest are both good and bad. I have always been a "leader" kind of person so I quite liked getting the responsibility of looking after the younger ones if our parents were both away. But with that role I also looked like "the boss" in their eyes. I was only doing what I had been told to do ... and now that they are parents they can see how they as parents expect that of their oldest children.I can remember some pretty big arguments at home in those times that I was left to look after those three kids! Usually it was the two middle boys fighting, my sister was pretty good at keeping herself amused. I have wonderful memories of getting away from them all and staying at my Grandma and Grandads' house for weekends. I loved being the only child in the house with them. I would bake girdle scones and piklets in the wee kitchen with my Grandma and then go out and help in the huge paddock and hen house that my Grandad was always busy with. I also liked staying with my Granny and Grandad who also lived in Oamaru. There was always plenty to do at their place and Granny always had me doing some kind of craft job as she loved machine knitting and recycling things.
For my parents, I was expected to be a "good role model" for the younger ones. I think I did a pretty good job at that as I did my homework, I had a good social life with nice friends and I worked hard at school so that I got enough grades to get to University. I liked being a good role model and it turned out that all my siblings went to university in my footsteps.
==
Trying new styles of teaching
In M1 I am going to find out about the Must Do Can Do method of learninghttp://elearning.tki.org.nz/Teaching/Inclusive-classrooms/Universal-Design-for-Learning/Planning-for-differentiated-learning
http://www.vln.school.nz/discussion/view/922782?orderby=latest
http://poutokomanawa.blogspot.co.nz/2016/02/must-dos-and-can-dos-and-math-problems.html
==
What do I love about my job?
It has taken me around the world where I have taught with amazing people and wonderful role models.Harrow International School Bangkok
http://www.harrowschool.ac.th/
KIS Bangkok
http://www.bangkokin360.com/virtualtour/kisinternationalschool/idevices/
Shukutoku School Tokyo
http://www.shukutoku-school.com/koucyou_aisatsu-en.html
Thorndon School - Wellington
http://www.thorndon.school.nz/
Fendalton Open Air School - Christchurch
http://www.fendalton.school.nz/
What tree are you Miss McLennan?
You are a Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida)
Native to the eastern half side of North America, the flowering dogwood prefers bright sunny mornings and shaded afternoons. With those conditions, it blossoms with creamy white or pink flowers, drawing attention from horticulture lovers.
You also draw a lot of attention wherever you go. You’re very social and love going to events where there are a lot of people around. People are drawn to you because of your fun nature and positive personality. You always have a good story to tell!
What type of tree would you be?
Your results for this quiz have been calculated and are presented below:
Your Result: Maple
86%
You are a sweet person and have many friends. You like everyone. You love cute things like puppies and kittens. Don't let people trick you; you are a little gullible
69%Palm
68%Oak
61%Redwood
38%Pine
Holly
Prickly yet pleasing to the eye, you are the Holly Tree! You are a social butterfly with a tendency to be short-tempered, especially if a social situation is not going as you planned. You rely on a strong net of family and friends to help you through daily life, as you tend to be either in a really good mood, or a terrible one - rarely experiencing the inbetween. Others enjoy your company, though know not to push the wrong buttons!
Jayde Officer.
What type of tree would you be?
Your Result: Palm
89%
You either like the beach, the desert, or the rainforest. You are very tolerant of others and don't like giving up friends. You love to have parties...
86%Redwood
74%Pine
53%Maple
47%Oak
Communications,Education technology,Virtual Reality,Collaboration, Workplace
Ed-tech holds 'enormous power' to foster learning beyond the basics
MARCH 15, 2016 3PM CATHERINE KNOWLES
Education technology is crucial in fostering social and emotional learning (SEL), and developing skills necessary in the 21st century, according to a new report.
A global survey by the World Economic Forum and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) finds that education technology holds enormous promise to help foster social and emotion skills such as collaboration, communication, and problem solving.
Currently, both parents and educators have a ‘narrow understanding’ of SEL - they view it primarily as a means of achieving better classroom discipline, not as a way to ensure better economic, academic, and social outcomes over the long term, the report finds.
However, according to the report, ed-tech can help to personalise learning, engage the disengaged, complement what happens in the classroom, extend education outside the classroom, and provide access to learning to students who might otherwise not have sufficient education opportunities.
Challenges for education technology adoption
Despite the promise of technology, most of the learning strategies commonly used to develop social and emotional skills do not use technology, or use it in only a limited way, according to the report. The survey shows that most parents and educators recognise the potential for education technology to build social and emotional skills but also that they do not fully understand which technologies hold the most promise or how to use them best.
In addition, parents and educators prefer to use technologies to impart foundational academic skills rather than to foster social and emotional skills. For example, 67% of teachers surveyed believe technology is best used for foundational subjects, such as literacy and numeracy, whereas only 43% believe it is best used for social and emotional skills, results that are similar to findings in other countries. In addition, the number of SEL-related ed-tech products in the market today is insufficient, the report finds.
Opportunities for education technology
According to the report, there are many critical opportunities that ed-tech presents to policy-makers, educators, and parents to foster the social and emotional skills that children need.
For one, educators and others can use ed-tech to boost what they already understand about social and emotional learning. In this way, these key people can utilise what they already know and capitalise on what works, the report finds.
Furthermore, technology developers are embedding SEL features more and more into ed-tech products in order to support foundational skills such as literacy and numeracy, and this is expanding what’s possible.
The five key technologies of today - wearable devices, leading-edge apps, virtual reality, advanced analytics and machine learning, and affective computing - are already extending the potential ways of fostering SEL and enabling educators to adopt new learning strategies, according to the report.
"To thrive in the 21st century, students must have strong social and emotional skills, which are increasingly vital to the changing labour market and are clearly linked to a range of benefits including higher levels of academic success and employment,” says Allison Bailey, a senior partner and the head of BCG's US Education practice.
"Tremendous innovation is happening in education as well as across industries that we can learn from to design new learning experience for the future," says Mengyu Annie Luo, World Economic Forum head of Media, Entertainment, and Information Industries.
THAT letter!
Yesterday the class was given THAT letter! I took it home and ....